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Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of rock music, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and four-octave vocal range. Freddie defied the conventions of a rock front-man with his theatrical style, influencing the artistic direction of Queen. Michael Jackson worked with Mercury on three songs, "State of Shock", "There Must Be More to Life Than This", and "Victory". All of these collaborations however unfortunately fell through.
History[]
Born Farrokh Bomi Bulsara in Zanzibar to Parsi-Indian parents, Freddie attended English-style boarding schools in India from the age of eight and returned to Zanzibar after secondary school. In 1964, his family fled the Zanzibar Revolution, moving to Middlesex, England. Having studied and written music for years, he formed Queen in 1970 with guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. Freddie wrote numerous hits for Queen, including "Killer Queen", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Somebody to Love", "We Are the Champions", "Don't Stop Me Now", and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love". His charismatic stage performances often saw him interact with the audience, as displayed at the 1985 Live Aid concert. He also led a solo career and was a producer and guest musician for other artists.
Freddie was diagnosed with AIDS in 1987. He continued to record with Queen, and posthumously featured on their final album, Made in Heaven (1995). He announced his diagnosis the day before his death, from complications from the disease, in 1991 at the age of 45. In 1992, a concert in tribute to him was held at Wembley Stadium, in benefit of AIDS awareness.
As a member of Queen, Freddie was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003, and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004. In 1990, he and the other Queen members were awarded the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music, and one year after his death Freddie was awarded it individually. In 2005, Queen were awarded an Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Song Collection from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors.
Work with Michael Jackson[]
After Jackson's death in 2009, Brian and Roger took steps to secure all three duets by Mercury and Jackson, with a view to releasing them in 2012. However, Taylor likened dealing with the Michael Jackson Estate to "wading through glue". Eventually, the parties agreed for one of the duets alone, "There Must Be More to Life Than This" to be released. "I was very pleased we had three new tracks to put on Queen Forever," said Taylor. "As well as the Michael Jackson track 'There Must Be More to Life than This', there is another song Freddie did with him, called "State of Shock", with a massive rock sound. But we could only have one track with Michael, which is a great shame."
A contributing factor to the delay from the time it was recorded was Mercury's frustration over Jackson's insistence that his pet llama, Louie be allowed to attend recording sessions. According to manager Jim Beach, Mercury told him "Can you get me out of here. I'm recording with a llama." Jackson wasn't keen on Mercury's recreational drug use during their recording sessions. Mercury returned to London soon after and the track remained unfinished.
The version on Queen Forever was produced and mixed by William Orbit, containing the original backing track from the Hot Space sessions with May on guitar, Taylor on drums and John Deacon on bass. An alternative mix by May was rejected in favor of Orbit's. A solo version recorded by Jackson has been recorded and leaked but remains unreleased.
Discography[]
Queen[]
- Queen (1973)
- Queen II (1974)
- Sheer Heart Attack (1974)
- A Night at the Opera (1975)
- A Day at the Races (1976)
- News of the World (1977)
- Jazz (1978)
- The Game (1980)
- Flash Gordon (1980)
- Hot Space (1982)
- The Works (1984)
- A Kind of Magic (1986)
- The Miracle (1989)
- Innuendo (1991)
- Made in Heaven (1995)
Solo[]
- Mr. Bad Guy (1985)
- Barcelona (with Montserrat Caballé) (1988)